As I mentioned above, I didn't get to read quite as many books as I had hoped to in October, but 10 books isn't too bad. The bottom ones that are not pictured were all from my Fall TBR list, which is great, but has put me wayyyyy behind on everything else. I'm definitely enjoying it, but I'm debating on if I will be able to do it again with my Winter TBR. Sigh.

That pretty much sums up my reading month!
Now tell me, how was YOUR October Wrap Up & Book Haul??

Monday, October 30, 2017

Happy MONDAY, Bookworms!!
Yes, this post is a day late. My bad! If it helps, I'm currently behind on
ALL THE THINGS are the moment. Ooooops.:)

Here's what I was up to this past week:

I only managed to finish one book this week, and that was Into the Bright Unknown by Rae Carson, which I really enjoyed. I actually hate to see the series end, I've enjoyed reading it so much. You can see my thoughts for the book here!

I'm currently reading four other books at the moment as well, which is getting a big confusing. If I actually took a moment to actually focus on just one book, I'd probably have more finished this week. *grin*

** Side note: I may feel like I'm not reading much lately, but I just recently had to raise my Goodreads Reading Challenge goal, again. So that's pretty cool!

The hubby was home on vacation this past week, so we took advantage of our new Movie Pass cards and went to see American Made and The Foreigner at the theater. Both were good movies, though not really my type.

I also watched the original Ghostbusters, which never, ever gets old, and The Addams Family, both of which were on my Halloween Movies list! I doubt I'm going to get to watch all the movies I had planned for Halloween, but I'm definitely going to try to watch my faves.

I also watched Practical Magic with my fellow Book Club ladies, and that was super fun! It was my first time seeing the movie, and I really enjoyed it. (Much better than the book, which rarely happens.) Probably because Sandra Bullock is awesome. ;)

** No, I have not started season 2 of Stranger Things yet. Soon, hopefully!

If you're on Instagram you should definitely check out #AlltheBooksNov, next months Book Photo Challenge hosted by @Loriimagination and myself! It's definitely lots of fun, and we'd love to have you join us!!

So, as I mentioned above, I'm pretty much behind on EVERYTHING at the moment, which really sucks, and has me super overwhelmed. (Which is probably the whole reason I'm behind to begin with. What a vicious circle life can be!) I can't believe it's almost time to leave October behind and say hello to November. Where has this month gone??

That's all for me this week, hopefully I will have a better week to report next week!

When Earth intercepts a
message from a long-extinct alien race, it seems like the solution the
planet has been waiting for. The Undying's advanced technology has the
potential to undo environmental damage and turn lives around, and Gaia,
their former home planet, is a treasure trove waiting to be uncovered.For
Jules Addison and his fellow scholars, the discovery of an alien
culture offers unprecedented opportunity for study... as long as
scavengers like Amelia Radcliffe don't loot everything first. Mia and
Jules' different reasons for smuggling themselves onto Gaia put them
immediately at odds, but after escaping a dangerous confrontation with
other scavvers, they form a fragile alliance.In order to
penetrate the Undying temple and reach the tech and information hidden
within, the two must decode the ancient race's secrets and survive their
traps. But the more they learn about the Undying, the more their
presence in the temple seems to be part of a grand design that could
spell the end of the human race... (Goodreads)

Are you as excited as I am by the fact that Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner have a new book coming out? I am seriously SO EXCITED for this book! Luckily for me, I managed to snag a copy from Netgalley, and I can't wait to get started on it. Read that summary, does it sound awesome, or what?! I really enjoyed the Starbound series which is also by these two authors, so I know I'm going to live Unearthed as well. :) Check it out if you're interested!

The stunning conclusion
to Rae Carson’s New York Times–bestselling Gold Seer trilogy, which
Publishers Weekly in a starred review called “Simply terrific.” A
historical fantasy brimming with magic, romance, and adventure—perfect
for fans of Leigh Bardugo, Sarah Maas, and Westworld.

Leah
Westfall, her fiancé Jefferson, and her friends have become rich in the
California Territory, thanks to Lee’s magical ability to sense precious
gold. But their fortune has made them a target, and when a dangerous
billionaire sets out to destroy them, Lee and her friends decide they’ve
had enough—they will fight back with all their power and talents. Lee’s
magic is continuing to strengthen and grow, but someone is on to
her—someone who might have a bit of magic herself. The stakes are higher
than ever as Lee and her friends hatch a daring scheme that could alter
the California landscape forever. With a distinctive young heroine and a
unique interpretation of American history, Into the Bright Unknown
strikes a rich vein of romance, magic, and adventure, bringing the Gold
Seer Trilogy to its epic conclusion. Includes a map and an author’s
note. (Goodreads)

My Thoughts...

Into the Bright Unknown by Rae Carson was another of my most anticipated releases for 2017, and with good reason! I've been waiting for over a year to get my hands on this book, and now that I've read, and LOVED it, I feel complete closure now that the series has come to an end.

I had the pleasure of re-reading the first two books, Walk On Earth a Stranger and Like a River Glorious, over the past two months while waiting for this book to release, so the story was super fresh in my mind when I finally started Into the Bright Unknown. I don't get often have the chance to re-read a series before the next book is released, but I've been doing it more often lately, and I've really enjoyed diving back into my favorite series again! The Gold Seer trilogy is no exception. There's so much I love about this series, even though some things make me want to rage, but I can't say I've ever read anything like this series before, and it's definitely a favorite of mine.

There are so many characters to love in the book, including the main character, Leah (Lee) Westfall. She was such a strong character from the start, and I really enjoyed watching her character grow even more over the course of the story. I also loved all the people that traveled across the country with her as well, or, should I say, the ones that stuck with her through it all, at least. These people were so much more than friends; they are family. And they are the best kind of family; the ones you get to choose yourself. I love them all, and especially Jefferson!!

(I should also add that there are so, so, so many characters to hate in the story as well, but, the good always overcomes the bad.)

Overall; I have really enjoyed this series so much, and I absolutely hate to see
it come to an end. This third book in the series does give me a bit of closure though. I'll definitely be re-reading this
series again in the future! If you've not yet picked up the Gold Seer trilogy by Rae Carson, I highly recommend that you do so! It's a unique and fast paced historical story that I just know you'll enjoy. Check it out soon!

Lara Jean is having the best
senior year. And there’s still so much to look forward to: a class trip
to New York City, prom with her boyfriend Peter, Beach Week after
graduation, and her dad’s wedding to Ms. Rothschild. Then she’ll be off
to college with Peter, at a school close enough for her to come home and
bake chocolate chip cookies on the weekends.Life couldn’t be more perfect!At least, that’s what Lara Jean thinks…until she gets some unexpected news.Now
the girl who dreads change must rethink all her plans—but when your
heart and your head are saying two different things, which one should
you listen to? (Goodreads)

My Thoughts...

One of my most anticipated reads for 2017 was Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han. I purchased the book as soon as it was released in May, but unfortunately had to keep pushing it back on my reading list. Then I discovered that my library finally had the audiobook for it, and I just HAD to listen to it right away. I'm so glad that I did! This book is definitely one of my favorite reads of the year.

As I'm sure I've mentioned in my review for the previous books, but I must say it again... I absolutely adore the characters in this book. Actually, Lara Jean is one of my most favorite characters ever, and I've really loved reading her story over the past few years. She has a really awesome family as well, and I especially love the bond between her and her sisters. I should also add that she has a pretty sweet boyfriend as well. I love all of these characters so much!

I think may have subconsciously put off reading this book because I really didn't want Lara's story to end. But I'm so glad that I did finally read it, as I feel like the whole story wrapped up very nicely. As I mentioned above, I have a hard copy of this book, but I decided to listen to the audiobook for it instead. I listened to the audiobooks for the first two books earlier this year when I re-read the series, so I knew I would enjoy this one as well. And I did. The narrator, Laura Knight Keating, does an awesome job with the voices for each character, and it was easy to get swept into the story as she read it to me. (She's narrated for all of the audiobooks in this series, and they are awesome to listen to!)

Overall; I've said it once, and I'll say it again... Always and Forever, Lara Jean was such a great read! It is definitely a favorite of 2017. If you're a fan of sweet contemporary stories, I highly recommend you pick up this series and meet Lara Jean for yourself, and I hope you love it just as much as I do!

I also FINALLY read Always and Forever, Lara Jean, which I've been meaning to read since it's been released back in May! It's been sitting on my shelf for so long, but then the audiobook came in at our local library, and I just HAD to get it. This book was perfection. Definitely one of my favorites for the year!

I also watched three movies this week! Hotel Transylvania 1&2 were both of my 31 Days of Halloween watchlist, so I'm glad to have watched those!

AND, I watched Scream with my Book Club girls as well! I had never seen this movie before, and am definitely not a fan of scary movies, but this one actually wasn't too bad!

As of today there are only 9 days left in October, and I still have SO MUCH to do, and even more books to finish reading! I've barely touched my blog in the past two weeks, and that makes me sad. So, I've got a lot of catching up to do before the month is over, which probably won't happen, as the hubby is home on vacation this week. Haha!

I completely forgot to add last week that I *finally* watched Wonder Woman, and it was Awesome! Definitely on my list of most favorite movies. We also watched Spider-man: Homecoming this week as well, and I liked it too!

I'm seriously behind on my 31 Days of Halloween movie watch, so that's been pretty disappointing. There are just not enough hours in the day!

So, our Fall Break did not go at all as planned, though that seems to be how it always works for us. Ha! The kiddos are actually looking forward to going back to school on Monday, so I guess it's been a pretty boring week for them, especially as they have been helping to take care of their sister who had her wisdom teeth removed this week, and whose recovery is not going as well as we had hoped. Here's hoping for a better week next week!

(I feel like I say that EVERY week. Can I just have a good week, please!?)